Cheap PC Buyers Guide – What To Look For

Looking for a new PC but budget a little tight? Here at Medion UK we understand that finding the right desktop PC at the right price isn’t always an easy task – especially if money is in short supply. But that doesn’t mean you should always settle for the cheapest PC available.

In this guide we will take you through what to look for when buying a cheap PC.

Which processor (CPU)?

At the lower-end of the processor market we have the Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium and Intel Core i3 (low-to-mid range) CPUs.

The cheapest PCs usually come bundled with an Intel Celeron processor – which is absolutely fine if you simply want a computer to browse the web, check/send emails or do some word processing.

However, most of us look for a desktop PC that delivers speed as well as efficiency – especially if you want to stream videos, music or play games. An Intel Pentium is really the next step-up from the Celeron and adequately delivers a decent computing experience at a good price.

The Intel Core i3 is the next level processor – delivering a faster experience and can handle multiple tasks at once thanks to its hyper-threading technology. It’s ideal for anyone looking for a PC they can work at home from – or for a family looking for a desktop PC that can handle almost anything.

Which Graphics Card (GPU) ?

Cheaper PCs usually come with an integrated graphics card – usually Intel HD, Intel Iris or an AMD equivalent.

Occasionally you can find an affordable PC with an Intel Core i3 processor that comes bundled with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon graphics card. In fact Medion have a few that are worth a look if you need a PC that can play some resource-demanding games.

For most people, however, an integrated graphics card is all you need – as long as you don’t need a PC that can play the latest resource-demanding games or carry out some intensive design or video editing work.

What Hard Drive (HDD)?

Most affordable desktop PCs come with at least 1TB of hard drive space as a minimum –which is plenty of storage for applications, games, documents, music, video etc.

Occasionally a cheap PC can come bundled with a Solid State Drive (SSD), however, due to the cost this is quite rare.

What Memory ( RAM)?

As a minimum we recommend at least 4GB RAM with any PC – cheap or otherwise, however, for more resource demanding games or applications anything above 8GB RAM is ideal.

The more RAM you have – the quicker your computer will run applications and games.

To Summarise…

It’s important to understand all the options available when buying a new desktop PC. If you’re looking for one that will last then you need to consider all the factors involved – decent processing power, enough RAM and enough hard drive space to run applications and games.

If you need a PC that can do all sorts – running applications, playing games, word processing, browsing the web then it is worth investing a bit more money.

Medion PCs come in all shapes and sizes with a standard 2 year warranty – ensuring that help is on-hand should you need it.